


Edge of Desire

by baeconandeggs, wulfpup



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Hybrids, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slice of Life, Smut, mentions of scent marking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:42:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24596209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/wulfpup/pseuds/wulfpup
Summary: to each other, they were like the sky
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 83
Kudos: 576
Collections: BAE2020





	Edge of Desire

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** BAE614  
>  **Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. Authors will be credited and tagged after reveals.** The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> **Author's Note:** dear god, what a terrible, terrible attempt this is. I feel bad for the prompter and my beta, really I do. Even so, I hope the readers will fall in love with it. This writer is inadequate and deserves slippers, especially from the mods, but the two people in the story are innocent. Please fall in love with them.
> 
> (written entirely while listening to this one John Mayer song)

  


Wired and I'm tired

Think I'll sleep in my clothes on the floor

Maybe this mattress will spin on its axis and find me on yours

~ Edge of Desire 

  
  


There was a small grassy lane that ran all the way through the Byun Strawberry Farm to the bus stop. It was quite a hike from the strawberry farm to the spot, but Baekhyun liked these morning walks. If anything, it was a great warm up exercise for the chilly weather - late February in Bucheon. Several leaves had yet to unfurl to declare springtime. Baekhyun did not mind the cold, he did not mind shivering inside his long padded jacket, he did not mind most things. His ears were scratchy and warm from wearing the ear muffs, and his fingers toasty in thick mittens. He was walking to the bus stop with Chanyeol, college was about to begin and life was good. 

  


Chanyeol had no need for thick woollens, you see he was warm blooded, more warm blooded than most. The boy would saunter around in a thin sweatshirt even in the coldest of winter nights in the farm. Chanyeol would be found making tteokbokki for the family while the rest of the Byuns shivered around the fireplace, or cleaning the attic, or fixing stuff that was broken and could be fixed. Most of the time, he would end up doing the stuff that Baekhyun bailed out on. Chanyeol was the reliable one around the strawberry farm whereas Baekhyun was, well, Baekhyun was Baekhyun, too bored of sitting still, too young to commit to a task, too much of a hummingbird.

  


Baekhyun was really fond of the tiger hybrid, silently swelling with pride at Chanyeol's many achievements, his stellar school records, his determined mein, his sense of duty, his deep, deep commitment towards whatever he took on. However, their equation had always been less than that of friends. People close to them always had difficulty describing their relationship even on the best of days. They were not friends, nor brothers, they just shared a tacit understanding.

  


Baekhyun had never desired to be friends with the tiger hybrid anyhow. He did share an understanding with Chanyeol, and for now, Baekhyun was content with that. 

  


Chanyeol disliked being treated like a hybrid pet, for one. Chanyeol held a lot of dislike for most established norms, he was always angry at the world, always questioning its ways and never fully satisfied with the answers. Chanyeol disliked that he had guardians - the Byuns - instead of real parents. He disliked that hybrids were patronised and flaunted by the owners as prized, and sometimes exotic, possessions. Chanyeol questioned why he needed written permission from the Byuns to choose his major subject, to choose a career, to travel, even to marry, while Baekhyun could just about do anything he wanted with his life. 

  


Baekhyun had learnt early on to never introduce Chanyeol as his hybrid pet. Pet! Haaa. The tiger hybrid would turn gray and spread gloominess all over the merry strawberry farm if Baekhyun ever called him a pet. Chanyeol had boundaries and Baekhyun respected them. They had an understanding. 

  


Not that Baekhyun did not want to mollycoddle his tiger hybrid or play with that long tiger tail that Chanyeol sometimes forgot to hide. Who wouldn't want to curl up against a very warm, very fuzzy, very adorable tiger! Most people travel many thousands of air miles every year to far off locales in Africa just so they can click selfies with the big cats. Baekhyun could give up tasting all the strawberries in their farm if he got to nestle against Chanyeol. 

  


Baekhyun grinned at the thought, his eyes on the tiger hybrid's broad back. Chanyeol turned around on the grassy path to face him, thick hair covering most of his forehead, eyes somehow very light brown in the morning sun. Chanyeol was the purest person with the prettiest eyes, Baekhyun thought, stumbling on the path.

  


"Excited?" the tiger hybrid asked plainly. That's right, never a full sentence from Chanyeol, never anything. 

  


"Everyone is going to be there." Baekhyun started. He talked enough for the two of them on all days. "Minseok and Jongdae. Kyungsoo and Jongin. So this day has finally come. Imagine all of us, going to the same university together, sitting in the same cafeteria!" 

  


Chanyeol nodded, and motioned for them to keep moving. 

  


Baekhyun could barely contain his delight this fine morning, he was very fond of Chanyeol's hybrid pals, Kyungsoo and Jongin, as they were of him. "We could all hang out together!" Even in his excitement, the boy tried to avoid stepping on the tiny wildflowers.

  


Chanyeol did not say anything. He only looked at Baekhyun when they reached the deserted bus stop. "I told you. Don't talk to me on campus."

  


"But you're my -" Baekhyun saw the colour in Chanyeol's eyes shift. He carefully rephrased. "The school papers say I am your guardian on the campus. If you cause trouble, or break the rules, the Dean will call me." He did not wish to act like strangers. They had been around each other since they were toddlers.

  


Chanyeol tugged Baekhyun's beanie in place. Sometimes the tiger hybrid did things like that, making sure Baekhyun was warm. "You will be the one getting in trouble." The tiger hybrid would touch Baekhyun whenever he pleased - brush a lock of hair, wipe food from the edges of his mouth, dust Baekhyun's clothes, or tie shoelaces when Baekhyun's hands were too busy. But Baekhyun was never allowed the same luxury. Chanyeol hated being pet. He hated being touched. He absolutely guarded his space and did not allow anyone to intrude. 

  


It was just the way Chanyeol was, and Baekhyun knew by now not to be hurt by the hybrid's actions. Baekhyun understood Chanyeol best, he knew that Chanyeol did not mean to be rude when he was brusque, or cold when he was distant. Chanyeol wouldn't knowingly hurt anybody in any manner, least of all Baekhyun. 

  


The boy was immensely touchy feely, he liked to lean against his friends, hug them, beat the shit out of them and share clothes. He wanted to do the exact same things with his tiger hybrid. Other people were so soft with their hybrid pets, treating them, petting them, and making much of them. He had seen hybrids wrapped around their owners. Too bad Chanyeol was his own person. 

  


Sigh! Baekhyun tapped the top of his head, "I have turned into a new leaf now. No more trouble." 

  


Chanyeol smiled at that. We will see, the tiger hybrid seemed to be saying. Baekhyun returned the smile and waited for the bus.

  
  


The start of university life meant a release from all the pressures that come as a high school student. Baekhyun and his coterie were just glad to have finally made it past that stage. All they could think of was partying and pillaging, meeting new people and making new friends. Chanyeol, on the other hand, had one set goal ever since he was young - to get a law degree and clear the bar exam.

There were so many prejudices and taboos surrounding hybrids. Chanyeol wanted to be an advocate for his kind and do pro bono work. He wanted to bring change in society's outlook towards hybrids, he had lofty, admirable goals.

  


Baekhyun had no such grand goals. Their strawberry farm would sustain them, he thought, even if Chanyeol were to work for free for the marginalised all his life. Chanyeol would always be well provided for by the Byuns, whether he asked for it or not, liked it or not.

  


They parted ways near the university entrance. 

  


"But I would still like to say hi to Kyungsoo and Jongin." Baekhyun insisted as a parting note. The hybrid walked away without acknowledging. 

  


The very first day was full of adventure. Baekhyun filled up endless forms for innumerable clubs and spent all his time sucking up to the seniors. Amidst all the running around, he spotted the tiger hybrid among the nation's future lawyers. Baekhyun debated whether or not to wave but quickly gave up on the idea when Chanyeol narrowed his eyes at him. 

  


"Are you and Chanyeol not talking to each other?" Jongdae asked evenly, later in the day, when he noticed the two having many run-ins but skirting around each other. It was odd. Baekhyun and Chanyeol never fought. In Jongdae's eyes, they had hearts of sugar for each other. No sourness. Never sourness. 

  


Baekhyun shook his head. "You know how touchy Chanyeol gets about this whole hybrid pet - owner thingy. He doesn't want his new classmates to refer to me as his owner. Chanyeol won't be able to live with that. He'd rather pretend his owner lives far, far away."

  


"Personally I feel he doesn't want the embarrassment of belonging to one such as you." Jongdae sprawled lazily in his seat. He meant it in the nicest possible way. His bestie was a lout, failing in exams, getting caught breaking rules, engaging in fist fights, when has Baekhyun been respectable ever? "Tiger hybrids are so rare. Isn't he the only tiger hybrid in all of Gyeonggi province? He'll have people swarming over the law faculty in no time just to catch a glimpse of this rare breed."

  


The thought disgusted Baekhyun. "I'll smack anyone who crowds him." No one was going to treat Chanyeol like a zoo animal, not on his watch! "And he is the only tiger hybrid in all of South Korea."

  


Minseok, who had been quiet all along, started teasing. "They'd mill around your Chanyeol even if he wasn't a tiger hybrid. A six feet tall freshie, chocolatey looks, deep dimples, they'll stalk him on SNS!"

  


Baekhyun knew Minseok was just parroting the lines of his foster baby sister, Yeri. Yeri was a cat hybrid who was a junior in Chanyeol's school. She had a hopeless crush on Chanyeol, and would often chew Minseok's ears on how good looking the tiger hybrid was. Baekhyun found it adorable. 

  


Baekhyun adored Yeri's antics. He found it quite hilarious that a thirteen year old had a crush on Chanyeol and even ran a fan page on Facebook devoted to him. Minseok's sister, on the other hand, was properly jealous of Baekhyun because for all intents and purposes, he was Chanyeol's owner. And weren't hybrids closest to their owners? 

  


Baekhyun had a good laugh upon learning that Yeri was a Baekhyun-anti. "But Chanyeol would never acknowledge anybody as his owner." He rued. "She has nothing to worry about. I can't compete with cute girls with cute pigtails for Chanyeol, now can I?"

  


Despite Baekhyun's best efforts, young Yeri still treated Baekhyun as potential competition. Baekhyun and Chanyeol might not even follow each other on Instagram but her brother had told her that they shared a unique bond, one which was difficult to describe. "To each other, they're like the sky." Poetic Minseok had supplied. Little Yeri couldn't fathom the meaning behind these words but was still upset with the fact. What does it even mean to be someone's sky? 

  


As the moderator of a fanpage, Yeri had duly done her research courtesy of Minseok. Baekhyun wanted to be a vet when he was nine or ten years of age. But he had to quickly abandon this idea because Chanyeol would get agitated whenever Baekhyun touched a slug or a snail, forget bigger animals like cats and dogs. Growing up, Baekhyun gradually learnt never to coo at other people's pets and coddle them, or pet a stray puppy in Chanyeol's presence. Caring for other animals as a vet was simply out of question. The tiger hybrid easily endured Mr. and Mrs. Byun's felicity with animals, but Baekhyun giving love to another animal was out of question. 

  


It didn't take long for the Byun family to realise that the tiger hybrid subconsciously recognised Baekhyun as his owner. He wouldn't allow anyone to pet him but he didn't want Baekhyun petting someone else as well. 

  


Adult Chanyeol liked to pretend that he was fine with Baekhyun snuggling with other animals. But his jaw would still grow tight. They were still growing, they hadn't learnt to pretend indifference yet. Feelings were feelings, and they showed. 

  


Yeri promptly became a Baekhyun-anti upon learning this tidbit. The handsome school senior who was indifferent to all his admirers, indifferent to everyone else save one, how not to hate Baekhyun.

  


"Young girls are scary." Baekhyun merely laughed it off. 

  
  


If Yeri could see Chanyeol at the University now, she would not feel so harshly about Baekhyun. Chanyeol hardly glanced at the human. He found a deer hybrid and a cat hybrid in his course, and hung out with them in the forenoon. He saw Baekhyun with his loafer friends and turned a blind eye. He met Kyungsoo and Jongin at the cafeteria for lunch. Not once did anyone bring up Baekhyun's name, or broach the subject of Baekhyun attending the same University as them. People who were close to Chanyeol knew that he was not happy being a 'hybrid pet' in some household, even though the Byuns were everything a hybrid could hope their owner to be. In the society they lived in, a hybrid without an owner was the equivalent of being an invalid without any social security. Hybrids did not enjoy any social stature to begin with. Deep down, Chanyeol felt caged, the status of a 'pet' insulting, and these feelings only intensified as the years passed. 

  


Tigers are solitary beings who prefer to be on their own. Could the tiger hybrid be any different. He required a wide berth, the widest berth, and the Byun Strawberry Farm provided that. But this too was too less, far too puny for the hybrid. 

  


Chanyeol had been looking forward to moving out of the Byun household and staying at uni dorm. He filled all necessary forms and took the permission and signatures of Mr and Mrs Byun. He was even allotted a room at the dorm. 

  


But then, one fine day just like that, the tiger hybrid changed his mind. He dropped the idea of moving out entirely. When Kyungsoo prodded, Chanyeol merely shrugged and said, "Baekhyun." He did not elaborate. There was no need to. 

  


Ofcourse, Baekhyun. 

  
  
  


Baekhyun, ofcourse! Chanyeol thought to himself, turning to look when he heard someone stalk his footsteps to the bus stop. And true to character, there Baekhyun was, beanie discarded now, wavy hair joyfully entangling with the evening breeze, swaying hither and thither. 

  


"Didn't we decide to walk to the bus stop together?" Not a complaint, just a reminder. Baekhyun never complained. The human did as he pleased, as much as he could, and made peace with things that were beyond his control. It was one of the reasons why Baekhyun was always merry and joyfully content with the world. Baekhyun had a skip in his step even now. The boy looked as though he very much enjoyed his first day at college. 

  


Chanyeol could not recall deciding to walk to the bus stop together, and chalked it down to yet another of the things that Baekhyun unilaterally decided for both of them. It was usually the small things - which ice cream flavour to buy, how many movies to marathon in one night, where to buy the best cheesecake from and when to haggle with the confectioner for a discount - the small stuff, like walking to bus stops and riding bicycles in the rain.

  


The tiger hybrid did not dislike the prospect of this joint activity, the human usually knew to keep his distance and give him adequate space. On most days, it did not even feel like he stayed with one such as Baekhyun. He liked his space and the Byun family had kindly allotted him the entire first floor of their two storey house. At nights, he was at liberty to prowl around the farm in his rarely seen animal form. 

  


"How was your first day? Did you join any club? Did you make new friends?" Baekhyun sounded like he had many more things to ask.

  


"Mn," Chanyeol nodded. He tore his eyes away from the human and resumed walking. "Aren't you cold?" he asked.

  


"A little." Baekhyun fell in step with Chanyeol, rubbing his nose "There's a cafe on the way. Hot chocolate?"

  


"Mn." 

  


Cacao Delight - the coffee bar was matchbox sized but they discovered that the hot chocolate served there was worth every penny that Chanyeol paid. Baekhyun rarely had any pocket money on him, perennially penniless that one. Chanyeol never could make out heads or tails where Baekhyun's monthly allowance went - if he spent it all, if he hoarded it like a dragon, it was anybody's guess. 

  


Both of them worked like field hands on the strawberry farm. Mr. Byun had always been generous with their allowances, who knew where Baekhyun channeled all that money into. Until a couple of years ago, Chanyeol thought Baekhyun blew his pocket money up on his plentiful girlfriends, the ones who the human talked to late into the night, sometimes till the wee hours.

  


Chanyeol would hear Baekhyun chuckling and teasing on the phone, even as he strolled around the premises in his animal form. One day it was Ji-woo, the other day it was Ha-eun. It was only much later that Chanyeol came to know that Ji-woo, Ha-eun, Min-seo, Ji-a and all others that came before them and after them were Minseok's girlfriends. While poetic Minseok broke the hearts of one girl after the other, Baekhyun took it upon himself to cheer them up in very non poetic ways. He would tell them crappy, self deprecating jokes.

  


Only Baekhyun would do such a thing. 

  


The human rubbed his choco mustache away and blinked at Chanyeol. The hybrid looked away, suddenly finding the plump, pleasant looking lady behind the counter very interesting. 

  


"I heard that-" Baekhyun smacked his lips, "whoever secures the most marks at semester-end exams is chosen by the Dean to address the students on - what was the word - pertinent topics."

  


Chanyeol took a swig of his hot chocolate. The lady behind the counter was now staring back at him, curiosity etched on her face. Hybrids were no longer required to wear yellow arm tags upon joining college but everyone seemed to recognise Chanyeol all at once. The tiger hybrid persona was much too grand to veil, he was too tall , his mane too proud, his features too powerful, his muscles too defined under his clothes, anyone could tell he was not a human upon second glance. 

  


Chanyeol disliked it most, the awe in people's eyes when they looked at him, the objectification, the immediate othering. Coming across a tiger hybrid was as good as coming across a tiger in the forests of Sumatra, both endangered species in different ways. 

  


Baekhyun pulled at his sleeve, "C'mon, let's go." He seemed not to notice the lady at the counter at all. 

  


The bus was crowded. It often falls in the college goers' lot to offer their seats to ahjummas, doesn't it? Baekhyun gave his seat to a plump woman who seemed to be carrying vegetables for her entire neighbourhood. Seeing this, Chanyeol gave his seat up as well, choosing to loom over Baekhyun. The human edged closer to him to avoid bumping into the man standing beside him. He smelled of hot chocolate, peanut butter and raspberry jam and other delightful things. Chanyeol tried not to breathe in, he tried not to breathe at all. Chanyeol's tail would have moved lazily if it was visible right now. 

  


Baekhyun swayed along with the movement of the bus, humming a low tune, seemingly oblivious to everything around him. Chanyeol wanted to tell him that if he didn't put his ear muffs and beanie on, he'd be sneezing through the night again. But it was not his place to say so. He gathered even closer to the human instead, his chin almost touching Baekhyun's head, his large palm automatically reaching for the small of the human's back, as though steadying Baekhyun. 

  


The ahjumma-with-the-vegetables kept exercising her neck to look at two of them, furtively at first and openly later. Chanyeol could have glared at her but he had been told on two separate occasions previously that his intense eye contact was enough to give old women heart attacks. He did not want to cause bodily harm to someone Baekhyun had vacated his seat for. 

  


"I told you that whoever secures good marks gets to address students." Baekhyun looked up and captured all his attention. 

  


"I know. I heard you."

  


The human's eyes twinkled. "You will totally aim for it, won't you?" 

  


"I will." Chanyeol said, finally breathing and allowing all that Baekhyun-infused air to get into his lungs. It was abject suffocation. The human smiled even as he was struggling for air, increasing his plight manifold. Gods have mercy! Some people should not be allowed to smile for more than two times a day, the tiger hybrid thought unhappily.

  


"You'll be a nice leader." the human went on, twinkling and smiling, completely oblivious as always. 

  


Chanyeol looked elsewhere. His eyes fell on vegetable ahjumma. She had kindness in her eyes now.

  


The tiger hybrid took rapid steps upon alighting, leaving Baekhyun way behind. The human would anyway coo and click at every animal he met along the way home, stray dogs, annoying butterflies, super annoying cats, Chanyeol did not want to bear witness. And abandoned dogs. For some reason, people always saw fit to abandon their responsibilities on the premises of the strawberry farm. 

  


They had stopped keeping count of the number of animals that were abandoned in the farm. Adopting such pets was like inviting an invisible tsunami into the household, given Chanyeol's territorial nature. Pets bolted at the sight of the tiger hybrid. And so, Mr. Byun had made many trips over the years to the local Animals for Adoption centre with Baekhyun. 

  


Chanyeol was among the first of them, the first to be abandoned on the farm. Mr. Byun's reputation as a kind hearted soul was known far and wide. He was well liked in their community. However, even if he hoarded all his life like Baekhyun seemed to be doing, Mr. Byun could have never brought home a tiger hybrid from any of the pet centres in Bucheon. As a matter of fact, Bucheon did not have a pet centre savvy enough to keep tiger hybrids. 

  


Tiger hybrids were extremely rare, not to mention costlier than a Bugatti Centodieci, which is another way of saying they cost a nuclear bomb. 

  


The discovery of a tiger cub shivering in the light morning drizzle was a heartbreaking sight. The shivering wouldn't stop even after they wrapped the cub in a thick blanket. Mr. Byun pulled the feeding bottle from toddler Baekhyun's mouth and gently gave it to the tiger cub. Baby Baekhyun cried in protest and created a ruckus. Mrs. Byun had to take him away from the scene. 

  


After many enquiries around town, Mr. Byun learnt that one 'chaebol heir' had imported a sterling tiger hybrid from Russia recently. Speculations were rife that the spoilt sire had abandoned the hybrid in spite after the tiger cub scratched the left side of his face. The young heir was now walking around with a heavily bandaged face, falsely attributing it to a bad fall. 

  


Mr. Byun was enraged at this irresponsible and inhumane behaviour. He promptly took the authorities to the heir's office in order to make the young man pay for his crime. Abandoning a hybrid pet instead of giving it up for adoption was an offence punishable by the country's law. The heir panicked, his good reputation at stake, handsome looks already temporarily gone. He fed the authorities many bills and begged Mr. Byun to not make a mountain out of a molehill. The evil thing even promised to set up a trust fund in the tiger cub's name and hand over adoption papers to the strawberry farm owner. 

  


"It isn't like a pet at all. It should be caged and put in the zoo or something." the young heir protested.

  


Mr. Byun debated at length whether to put him behind bars. After long and due consideration, the kindly man accepted the adoption papers. He stressed that the Trust Fund should amount to a Bugatti Centodieci at least and the heir did not argue. 

  


But the battle was far from won.

  


It took the longest time to reconcile Baekhyun and Chanyeol, they were both vicious in the way only small kids can be. Many tears were shed, many frustrations arose. Baby Baekhyun wanted to smother the tiger cub to death, most likely out of affection, but the latter was not docile and did not like to be squeezed. No baby likes to be squeezed, no cub wants their tail pulled. Tiny paws would strike out at plump cheeks, and loud bawling and hissing would ensue. Baekhyun was a baby monster. No amount of scratching would deter him. If he wanted to hold on to the tiger's little leaf sized tail, he would. The Byun household slowly turned into a madhouse. Mr. and Mrs. Byun lost a large amount of hair. 

  


By and by, both of them learned to leave the other alone, staring at and observing each other from across the room instead. Sometimes, when no one was around to reprimand, Baekhyun would try to pull the ears or tail of the cub. This would again result in scratches on Baekhyun's baby skin. However, little Baekhyun did not allow any other person to bully, tease, or even stare at the cub. And when Baekhyun threw tantrums, the baby tiger would uncharacteristically come and plop himself against the former. The trick to make Baekhyun stop crying was to let him touch the furry tail of the cub, always.

  


Months passed, and seasons changed. Monsoon turned to autumn and autumn gave way to winter. Young ones are quicker than seasons to transform. By the time Baekhyun was a chubby five year old, Chanyeol had yet to show them his human form. Mr. Byun took him to the best clinics, the best doctors, but nothing worked. "He'll come around." the doctors assured.

  


Chanyeol was stubborn. 

  


The family really began to worry by the time Baekhyun turned six. When all his little friends left for home after enjoying cake on his sixth birthday, Baekhyun cut a huge slice of cake and tiptoed to Chanyeol's room. 

  


"Cake." the birthday boy said, pushing the door open and expecting to see the tiger snuggling in a corner. He hadn't expected his birthday surprise to turn out like this. He did not see a cub, but rather a naked boy holding onto the wall, learning to walk. 

  


They stared at each other, familiar and yet unfamiliar.

  


"Chanyeol." Baekhyun said, momentarily dumbstruck. 

  


"Bae….bbbbb... bae…kkkhhhhh"

  


The birthday boy chuckled. The tiger hybrid went silent, absolutely still now, hands on the wall, legs at odd angles. 

  


"I'll teach you to walk." Six year old Baekhyun declared.

  


The hybrid shook his head. 

  


"Then you'll fall a lot." Six year old Baekhyun warned.

  


Chanyeol shrugged. 

  


Chanyeol fell a lot, but he was a fast learner. He learned to walk and talk soon enough. 

  


He could not pretend to himself that 'Baekhyun' was not the first word he learned. He would practice it in the privacy of his room. To be able to finally call Baekhyun by his name was a relief. It felt like safety at last.

  


So childish, Chanyeol thought now, reminiscing their early days and unusual upbringing. 

  


By the time dinner was served, Baekhyun had successfully managed to smell like chocolates, peanut butter, mud, sweat, and a weird mix of flowers. He could also smell the granny from the farm next door. The human was happy, Chanyeol noted. That he couldn't make out any animal scent on Baekhyun made Chanyeol happy too. 

  


"Don't make that sound while eating," Mr. Byun rapped the human's knuckles.

  


Baekhyun chuckled and made some more slurpy noises. Incorrigible Baekhyun, the hybrid thought to himself.

  


"Aren't you old enough? Learn from Chanyeol. Now that you both attend the same college, you must see how he conducts himself."

  


Baekhyun did not mind the comparison, Mr. Byun's remarks passing from one ear to the other. 

  


"Honey." Mrs. Byun said coaxingly, as though they had this conversation many times behind closed doors, but her eyes were on Chanyeol. The hybrid knew she had always disliked comparisons of her son with him. 

  


"Mom, I think Chanyeol is going to be very popular in our year." 

  


Mrs. Byun pursed her lips, nodding vaguely. The elders went back to discussing mundane matters. 

  


Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun and found that the human's eyes were on him as well. It was not a passing glance but a contemplative gaze. "What?" the hybrid mouthed. 

  


Baekhyun shrugged, lips greasy, cheeks the shade of peach from eating warm food. 

  


The boys always shared the load of doing the dishes after meal times. 

  


"Don't be late for college tomorrow." Chanyeol reminded the human. "You tend to oversleep."

  


"Come and wake me up then." Baekhyun was too busy wiping the plates dry to see the expression on Chanyeol's face.

  


The hybrid turned the tap off and shook his hands to get the water droplets off. He did not like to enter Baekhyun's room. It smelled of Baekhyun. He could stand by the door and knock. He could never bear to enter. Children without money to buy toffees did not enter toffee shops. 

  


"Your room is so messy." Chanyeol made up an excuse. 

  


"As if your room is spotless."

  


"Come and have a look." Chanyeol challenged evenly, handing the human a stack of plates to wipe dry. 

  


To this, Baekhyun had no reply. The hybrid was satisfied. Baekhyun too was hesitant to enter Chanyeol's room. They were like this, always skirting around each other as though walking on eggshells, afraid of barging in on the other's space, afraid to offend, afraid they'd do something to hurt the other, afraid they'd begin and not know when or how to stop.

  


The tiger hybrid looked at the human who seemed too busy drying plates to reply, at the nimble fingers and their deft handling of the chinaware. 

  


"I'm going upstairs." Chanyeol announced. 

  


Baekhyun looked up. "To sleep? Will you sleep now?" 

  


Chanyeol knew that the human sometimes spied on him from his window as he walked around scent marking odd places in the farm.. He did not want the boy to be up till late for naught. "I will sleep now. You should too." He knew this would fall on deaf ears, Baekhyun played games late into the night.

  
  


Contrary to expectations, Baekhyun was early to rise the next day. The prospect of walking to the bus stop with the tiger hybrid so enticing that sleep felt like an impediment. It was strawberry picking season, and buses loaded with tourists had already arrived at their farm to try their hands at fruit picking. It was that time of the year when their larder would overflow with items made of the fruit - jams, jellies, pickles, buns, and other soft things that caressed taste buds and souls. 

  


The family would earmark Sundays to prepare farm fresh strawberry jam. Baekhyun helped out by eating. He was their tester, a jolly punctuation mark amidst all the stirring and storing.

  


Year after year, the first bottle of jam made by Chanyeol was Baekhyun's. There was no particular reason, it was just tradition. The first bottle of jam made by his mother was also his, but he'd always finish Chanyeol's jar first. 

  


Today, Baekhyun had a dozen jam jars in his bag. "You should hand these out to your new friends too." 

  


Chanyeol snorted. He wore a thin shirt, not suitable for the weather at all, and looked like Spring had made a surprise visit and landed on just the two of them. Baekhyun shivered inside his wool coat, catching up to the tiger hybrid.

  


"Don't you want to hand strawberry jams to your friends?" Baekhyun pressed. Should he be embarrassed to carry a tradition he had begun in kindergarten to college? But Baekhyun had always been the strawberry jam fairy.

  


"I gave you one, didn't I?" Chanyeol finally said, leading the way to the bus stop. 

  


"But - " Baekhyun began, then forced his fingers inside his mouth. We're not friends - he was about to say, almost about to say. They were always careful never to allude to their equation as friendship. Calling it friendship would simplify it, yes , but Baekhyun always felt the term was for Jongdae, for Minseok. There was simply no label to what they were , and it felt better that way. How does one describe one's relationship with the sky! It is a presence. There's not much to it, but can one imagine life without the sky? 

  


"Need help with your delivery bag?"

  


"No." Baekhyun grinned, shaking his shoulders to make the jars clank even more. He could have used bubble wrap, but that would have taken effort. 

  


"I still feel you should hand out jam jars. Perfect way to break the ice."

  


"I still feel you could have used bubble wrap." 

  


They parted ways at the uni entrance.

  
  


When Baekhyun saw Chanyeol in the evening, the tiger hybrid was not alone. He was hanging out by the uni entrance with his batch mates, the usual suspects - Kyungsoo and Jongin, a guy with rainbow hair, and a tall girl. Baekhyun was happy to discover that the tiger hybrid made new friends, even without jam jars. He was in a fix though. Should he walk to the bus stop alone today? He could not pull Chanyeol away from his new friends. 

  


Jongin noticed Baekhyun and smiled lazily. Chanyeol's close friend was so pretty, so lovable, that Baekhyun wanted to hand him a jam jar right then and there. But he had run out of stock. 

  


Chanyeol noticed him then, when he lifted his hand to wave at Jongin, but went back to nodding his head at whatever the rainbow haired guy was saying. 

  


Baekhyun walked all the way down to Cacao Delight alone, then decided he needed hot chocolate. After some thought, he ordered two hot chocolates, then squeezed through the occupied chairs to snag two unoccupied seats. 

  


The sky outside had turned gray. Back home this time, the tourists must have left the farm in their bright buses, bags loaded with the fruits they picked, phones choc a bloc with hundred pictures and memories. 

  


Baekhyun did not have to wait for long, the tiger hybrid found him when he was halfway through his hot chocolate. Chanyeol liked his drinks lukewarm. "Payment?" the hybrid asked, carefully placing his bag on the empty seat. 

  


Baekhyun held the glass mug with both hands, enjoying the warmth. "I told the lady that you'll come and pay for the hot chocolate."

  


Chanyeol gave him a small smile, as if he knew this would happen, as though he was happy to pay for their drinks. 

  


Baekhyun watched as the tiger hybrid walked to the counter and fished his wallet out. He wanted to ask Chanyeol about his new friends but realised he would come to know by and by anyway. The lady at the counter scrutinised Chanyeol from top to toe. Baekhyun hated it. They always did that, the new people who came into contact with the tiger hybrid. Baekhyun decided to give the lady a week, if she did not mend her manners in a week's time, he'd look for another place that sold hot chocolate. 

  


They were able to secure seats on the ride back home, and what's more, there were no elderly ladies in sight. Bless the elderly ladies, bless them for not coming out to buy vegetables. Chanyeol had both their bags on his lap because Baekhyun wanted to play games on his phone. 

  


"I got killed!" Baekhyun cried, looking sideways at Chanyeol. 

  


Chanyeol, who had been looking at him, looked startled at his sudden movement. 

  


"I got killed." Baekhyun said, slowly this time, giving the big cat leeway to save his face. 

  


"Restart the game." Chanyeol sighed.

  
  
  


On the third day, Baekhyun woke up very late. By the time he hastily put his shoes on to run after Chanyeol who had gone ahead, the tiger hybrid was already comfortably perched on one of the seats in the bus stop. He had barely caught his breath after all the exertion, when his eyes fell on all the colourful paper bags in Chanyeol's hands. Visitors to their strawberry farm took home their fruit pickings in these lovely packets.

  


"What's in there?" Baekhyun asked, surprised. 

  


"Jam jars. Some fruits. Cupcakes I baked in the morning while you were sleeping. " Chanyeol said, "For friends." The tiger hybrid's gaze, whenever he looked at Baekhyun, was always so steady. 

  


"Oh ho?" Baekhyun was delighted at first. Waiting for the bus, he became thoughtful later. No matter, he told himself, Chanyeol's first jar of jam will always belong to him. It was of no concern who ate the rest of it. If he ate all that sugar, he'd be a diabetic.

  


"Do you want a cupcake?" Chanyeol asked, uncertain but still fishing inside one of those paper bags. Baekhyun was looking at his ill tied shoes and did not look up. "Mn." he said, extending his hand. He had eaten his fill during breakfast but he figured he could push in a cupcake. He would have the first of Chanyeol's cupcakes too. This was the natural order of things.

  


"You can eat later if you're full." Chanyeol placed a warm strawberry cake on his open palm. "I kept the dozen from the first batch inside your tin box." Baekhyun had a large tin box where he stored bakery biscuits and other goodies. Baekhyun liked midnight snacking. He made sure his tin box was full for midnight emergencies.

  


He looked up, "This is not the first batch!"

  


"The first batch is inside your tin box." Chanyeol was too busy arranging the rest of the cakes to see the stupid expression on Baekhyun's face.

  


Baekhyun ate the entire cupcake in one go to keep himself from smiling. 

  


His good mood persisted throughout the day. It dampened a little bit when he saw the pretty classmate of Chanyeol's holding one of the gift bags later in the evening. She was smiling and holding on to the packet like little Baekhyun used to hold Chanyeol's tail - very firmly and with a lot of love.

  


Baekhyun's hurried steps stalled at the sight of Chanyeol, then picked up again. He narrowly avoided Jongin's outstretched arm that was reaching for his ears, then waited at Cacao Delight.

  


Baekhyun ordered two hot chocolates. "Chanyeol will come and pay." he declared, picking the pretty tray with the hot drinks.

  


"Why do you make your boyfriend pay all the time?" the proprietor scolded him out of nowhere. Baekhyun was taken aback. 

  


The lady leaned towards him and whispered. "Eh, your boyfriend is a hybrid. You should know better. Life is hard for them as it is, even though he might not say it out loud to you. Why make it harder?" She tapped the counter, "Most hybrids are chased out of homes once they grow old. Nobody gives them any jobs."

  


It was true, the laws in the country sucked, and there was scant social security for hybrids. There were a number of government aided 'Hybrid Homes' but they were ill run and ill funded and certainly not the solution. The powers that be were not prepared to give hybrids any autonomy, not in the real sense, not in the way that would change the living conditions of hybrids.

  


"Ahjumma, why are you being like this?" Baekhyun protested. In matters like these, he liked his mother best. She was far too much of a busy woman to be going around giving unsolicited advice.

  


"Ai, who's your ahjumma? Call me noona." The ahjumma-noona fixed her hair. "Anyway, don't make it hard on him."

  


"He's not my boyfriend." Baekhyun shook his head, his hair, his cheeks, opening his eyes wide to convey all his sincerity behind the statement. 

  


The ahjumma who was also a noona scoffed. "It's okay." she said in a conspiratorial manner. "I know people prefer to keep such relationships hidden. There's a lot of prejudice. Tsk."

  


"Haaa?" Baekhyun let his mouth fall open. If he were dating a hybrid, wouldn't he announce it to the world with pride anyway? His heart burned with the injustice of it. "You have it all wrong."

  


The lady blinked. "Oh, you think you can fool me. I have twenty years of experience behind this counter. I have seen all sorts of people. If you argue with noona, you won't get a discount."

  


Baekhyun was beginning to say something but turned into a solid statue the second she mentioned a discount. Between clearing a misunderstanding and discount, Baekhyun would always choose a discount. 

  


So, he meekly carried the hot chocolate and sat in a corner, waiting for the tiger hybrid.

  


"I got us a discount. And you're paying." he told Chanyeol as soon as the tiger hybrid showed up. 

  


Chanyeol shook his head, amused. "How did that happen?" 

  


Baekhyun played with the rim of his glass tumbler. "She thinks we are dating. Couple discount." Which was a lie, but he'd rather tell a lie than tell Chanyeol that the ahjumma-noona pitied him as a hybrid. Chanyeol could afford a Bugatti Centodieci with his trust fund, he didn't need anyone's charity. 

  


Chanyeol stared at him in disbelief.

  


"We have been here drinking chocolate milk for three days in a row." Baekhyun stammered. "That's a couple thing, I guess. But yayyie, discount!" He wrinkled his eyes and sipped from the straw. 

  


Chanyeol threw his head back and laughed. 

  


Baekhyun enjoyed the sight of Chanyeol laughing. His heart grew fonder of the tiger hybrid everytime this laugh surfaced. "Drink yours before it gets cold."

  
  


The ahjumma-noona called her helper to her side. "Look. Look. And he says they're not dating."

  


"Awwwww. So cute." the helper gushed. 

  


"That one is sly though." Ahjumma-noona pointed at Baekhyun, "Never pays."

  
  


Baekhyun was no prince of hearts, but he was a fairly likeable guy, or so he had always believed. Matronly ladies found him very cute, the grandpas thought he was very well behaved, children loved him, so did animals. He did not receive too many chocolates for Valentine's Day. Compared to Chanyeol's Valentine's Day collections, his were nominal. Even so, no one could say that he was outright dislikeable. 

  


But the way Yeri was behaving, Baekhyun felt he must be really detestable. The girl arrived along with Minseok on a fine Sunday morning, a busy day on their strawberry farm. "I had to bring her. She wanted to see Chanyeol. She was being very annoying about it." Minseok explained. 

  


Yeri sat very straight on the couch, not looking at Baekhyun, not even a glance. She had a box of heart shaped chocolates on her lap, 'not for Baekhyun. don't dare eat.' written in bold letters on the side. Baekhyun complimented Yeri once or twice, but the girl plain ignored him. He looked at Minseok, hapless, who shrugged, equally hapless. 

  


Mrs. Byun adored Yeri. She had hoped for a daughter once. "Our Yeri grows prettier every time I see her." the lady gushed. "So tall already."

  


Yeri jumped from the couch as soon as Mrs. Byun walked inside the living room. "I came to pick strawberries, auntie." 

  


Baekhyun and Minseok rolled their eyes as Mrs. Byun and Yeri hugged, touched and complimented each other's hair. 

  


"I got chocolates for Chanyeol." 

  


Mrs. Byun pinched Yeri's cheeks. "Not for Baekhyun? Still hate him?"

  


"I came to see Chanyeol only." Yeri was a very outspoken thirteen year old. 

  


"Oi, kiddo." Minseok warned his sister. Yeri tossed her luxurious hair. 

  


Mrs. Byun laughed. "Fine. Fine. I will ask Chanyeol to show you around and take you strawberry picking. Take lots and lots of strawberries with you. I'll be at the overseer's office. Come to me if you need anything, hmm? Minseok, don't cause trouble with Baekhyun." 

  


Minseok grinned. 

  
  


Chanyeol had been looking forward to a laid back Sunday. He had been up till late the night before, walking around the farm and scent marking his favourite places. Tiger hybrids were nocturnal in nature, nothing gave him more pleasure than being on his own, walking around the place under the midnight blue sky, swimming in the small pond they dug especially for him in the backyard to bathe in hot summer days. He climbed trees if he felt like climbing trees, he ran across the length and breadth of the farm if he desired thrill.

  


By the time he walked in through the back door, the family would be deep asleep. Sometimes, he would come across Baekhyun tiptoeing around the kitchen, looking for snacks to quell his 1 A.M. hunger pangs. The human would tear open packets, open and close cabinets, trying to be quiet but failing at it. 

  


On nights when Baekhyun paced in the kitchen for more than fifteen minutes, clearly not finding anything of his liking to munch upon, Chanyeol would come downstairs to fix the human a midnight meal. They were like clockwork mice, this was how they behaved, it was their normal and nobody raised any eyebrows.

  


The human's swollen, sleepy eyes would light up. "I feel like something sweet." he'd say, or "I feel like something crunchy." or "I feel like yoghurt but I also feel like ice cream?" or "I feel like drinking something to cool my soul." or "I don't know what I want but I want something." And then it would fall on Chanyeol to interpret Baekhyun's cravings. He would quickly fix something up and Baekhyun would be happy with whatever was laid out in front of him. 

  


"Thank you." the human would say every time. And Chanyeol would want to scent mark the surfaces Baekhyun touched, the spoons, the bowls, the door handles, everywhere Baekhyun's fingers touched. Instead, Chanyeol would run his fingers through his hair. He would run his fingers through his hair many times. It was all very frustrating, to want to scent mark Baekhyun in the middle of the night. It was not a happy sort of frustrating, it was a frustrating sort of frustrating. He tried to avoid such mid night run-ins the most. 

  


Chanyeol knew Baekhyun liked a heavy breakfast. On Sundays, the human would wait for him to wake up so they could have brunch together, in silence. That was the essence of how they were - doing things together but in silence, and in perfect synchronisation. He brushed and fixed himself, fixed his hair, applied cream and put some clothes on. 

  


The tiger hybrid was surprised to find three pairs of eager eyes on him as he made his way downstairs. Baekhyun, Minseok, that kiddo Yeri. Crap, Chanyeol thought, what horrible timing! He had been looking forward to being lazy the entire day, comfortably away from humans up in his own den. Utter crap! Only then did he realise how much he was looking forward to having Sunday brunch with Baekhyun, alone. 

  


Chanyeol was mid-rut. It was mild, nothing he couldn't handle, or hadn't handled before. He just needed to coop up in his den and be left alone. He wanted to have a meal and sleep the entire day, but he could see that it was not to be.

  


Now he had to be social. 

  


"Yeri came to see you. Make us some fried eggs." Baekhyun smiled. 

  


Chanyeol was relieved to find Baekhyun warmly dressed, his neck covered in a black high neck, feet hidden in Christmas socks. But to the tiger hybrid's dismay, the human had chosen to put on a figure hugging pair of jeans. Today of all days! Double crap, Chanyeol thought. 

  


"I brought you chocolates!" Yeri bounded up to him eagerly, her kitty nature breaking forth. 

  


"Thank you." Chanyeol said, his smile gentle. Yeri would always bring him chocolates in school. The chocolates would then be pushed inside Baekhyun's already brimming tin box. His eyes fell on 'not for Baekhyun. don't dare eat.' "You're the young one. You should eat chocolates, not me." 

  


Yeri pouted.

  


"Didn't find someone your own age to crush upon yet?" Chanyeol was aware of Baekhyun's eyes on him, and as always, he was embarrassed of having a thirteen/fourteen year old admirer, a very vocal admirer at that. 

  


"I'm going to marry you someday." Yeri declared, making herself taller.

  


"Shut up!" Minseok teased good naturedly. "You're a kid and you're scared of ghosts. You still sleep with Mom." 

  


"But when I grow up, I'll marry Chanyeol." Yeri persisted.

  


Chanyeol glanced at Baekhyun, the human was leaning on Minseok's shoulder and gazing at him, the softest smile playing on his lips, for the things they knew. 

  


"Eggs." Baekhyun reminded.

  


"Eggs." Chanyeol nodded, then got down to work. 

  
  
  


Baekhyun and Minseok had plans to play games after brunch, but Chanyeol did not want to walk around the strawberry farm alone with Yeri. He would die of the sheer embarrassment, and discomfort. He only had to request Baekhyun once, the latter immediately agreeing to tag along. They left Minseok on his own in Baekhyun's room and set forth. 

  


Baekhyun had done it hundreds and thousands of times, taking visitors around the farm, guiding them on how to pluck the fruits, answering their questions with politeness and a great deal of patience. 

Every strawberry picking season, a number of unmanageable brats showed up with their parents, throwing tantrums and falling all over strawberry creepers. Baekhyun was a past master at handling all sorts of mean mouthed foulies.

  


Yeri was the most stubborn of the lot though. She totally disregarded what he had to say, making faces behind his back. 

  


"Don't do that." Chanyeol reprimanded. Later, as Yeri plucked strawberries, the tiger hybrid went to stand alongside the human. 

  


"Don't mind her."

  


"Chanyeol, she is determined to marry you. Watch out." The human was all lighthearted smiles. How much he had suffered due these smiles, how much more did he have to suffer! He felt his heart could shatter with all that it struggled to contain.

  


On days like these, especially on days like these, Chanyeol couldn't stand Baekhyun's smiles. 

  


He knew Baekhyun was teasing, but still felt the need to say something. "School girl infatuation." he said. "She's too young to know her mind." 

  


"I disagree." Baekhyun said, plucking a nearby fruit and taking a bite, "I believe -" the human looked him straight in the eye, smile disappearing, "I really feel one can fall in love even at a very young age." 

The human was dead serious for once.

  


Chanyeol shook his head, sage like. "Feelings that develop at a tender age are bound to change."

  


The human was displeased to hear that, tiny creases appearing on his face. "Is that how you are?" Baekhyun squared his shoulders, "I am not like that."

  


Chanyeol jerked his thumb towards Yeri who was quietly picking fruits, "I am talking about her?" He smiled at Baekhyun and offered a fat strawberry he had plucked just then. He wanted to say a couple of things to Baekhyun, words which were long pending in their case. He would have spoken then, had Yeri not been around. It felt like an opportune moment to have this discussion, he knew they would have this conversation one day, it was inevitable. 

  


"When have I not given you my first bottle of jam?" Chanyeol asked instead. When he was eleven, his first bottle of sour strawberry jam was Baekhyun's. Twelve, he goofed the recipe up but Baekhyun still wanted it. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen. "What has changed in all these years?"

  


"Nothing." Baekhyun sighed, unable to smile now, as if on the threshold of some discovery. The human pondered over his words, squeezing the strawberry with slender fingers. 

  


"And nothing will change." Chanyeol stated, before going back to Yeri's side. This Baekhyun, the tiger hybrid thought sadly, was always smiling at the easiest, smallest of things but an intense word or intense look could scare him so much. Youth flew by so fast, finding the right timing was hard, judging the right timing even harder. 

  
  
  


Visitors to the strawberry farm dwindled as spring came around with its warm air and colourful abundance. Chanyeol and Baekhyun took to drinking banana milk in Cacao Delight instead of hot chocolate. Ahjumma-noona stopped bothering Baekhyun for not paying, finally taking into her stride that this one would never cough up. 

  


Things were hunky dory at home, busy but exciting at college, and it seemed like their first semester would fly by without incident. The initial burst of curiosity mixed with silent awe that Chanyeol inspired at campus was beginning to die down. People were learning to not stare, and not care about a tiger hybrid in their midst. There was no juicy piece of news about him that idle college goers' could exchange in cafeterias. He was a regular guy, with regular friends, doing regular things on campus. He was also remarkably tight lipped, though never discourteous. 

  


Baekhyun had almost begun to stop worrying for the tiger hybrid. Then, one fine day, he got into a brawl. Baekhyun had gotten into plenty of scuffles, major and minor, growing up. He couldn't stand injustice in any form, he had to act. He got it from Mr. Byun. 

  


The fact that he used fists instead of his mouth, only God knows where he got it from. 

  


They were hosting an annual spring festival at college. Baekhyun and his friends were volunteers. The seniors who were in charge of organising the fest, along with the volunteers, were in the midst of a meeting in the Committee room, debating which local bands to invite. Baekhyun did not expect the tiger hybrid to knock once and enter. 

  


At first, he thought Chanyeol had come looking for him. 

  


The tiger hybrid came together with Jongin, Kyungsoo, the cat hybrid with rainbow hair Sehun and Tzuyu, the deer hybrid who had become Chanyeol's fast friend. 

  


"What is this hybrid fashion show?" Tzuyu spoke without preamble, a flyer in hand. "Why do we have to parade in our animal forms in front of the entire college? Who thought this would be a good idea?"

  


The senior in charge of the fashion show in question, stood up. 

  


"Did you consult anyone before deciding to exhibit us as show pieces?" Tzuyu tore at him. 

  


"Relax." the senior tried to pacify. "It's not like we are forcing people to participate. This is only for those who wish to take part. It's tradition. You do know there are some of you who like to participate."

  


"Just because it is tradition doesn't mean it is right. I don't think the college should hold such a competition." Chanyeol said. He wasn't shaking in anger like Tzuyu, but Baekhyun could tell he was very displeased with the idea.

  


The senior laughed. "Come on, it's just a walk on the ramp in your actual forms." He looked Chanyeol up and down. "It's not like your owners don't show you off. I bet they show you off. Ask you to turn in front of people they want to impress, and there you are, on all fours - "

  


The senior couldn't continue, he didn't even know what hit him. Before any of them could gain any semblance of what was going on, Baekhyun had tackled the senior to the ground, landing one blow after another. 

  


"You say that again. You - say that - again. How dare you make fun of Chanyeol!" Baekhyun was screaming, completely out of control. 

  


Students in the corridor outside ran inside the hall to check what the commotion was about. 

  


Jongdae and Minseok tried to pry Baekhyun off the senior who lay spread eagle on the floor now but it was proving to be difficult. "What the fuck are you doing? Get off me." the senior fought back.

  


Baekhyun clawed at his face. " - in front of me, you have some gall talking like that to Chanyeol in front of me. I will kill you. I will kill you today."

  


They finally managed to pull Baekhyun away. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" the senior spat, his nose bleeding. 

  


"I will kill you the next time you say something like that." Baekhyun shouted, struggling against the people holding him off. "Let go of me. I will batter his skull today."

  


The senior looked on in horror. "Are you mad?" He couldn't believe he was beaten to a pulp by some junior just then, and for what. "Are you absolutely mad?"

  


Fifteen minutes later, Baekhyun found himself in the Dean's room. The senior had also been summoned. He would have lunged at the boy again right in front of the Dean if not for Chanyeol holding his wrist in a vice like grip. 

  


Baekhyun was shaking. 

  


Kim Heechul, the Dean, had seen all manner of fistfights in the course of his lengthy career. This wasn't new to him at all. He sighed and looked at the boy, Byun Baekhyun, trying not to be amused at the deathly stare and the torn shirt. "Tell me, why did you hit your senior?"

  


"He insulted Chanyeol. He said we treat Chanyeol like a circus animal and make him do tricks. I'll break his bones."

  


Heechul raised a brow and looked at the other boy, "Did you say that, insult a hybrid?"

  


The senior nodded, eyes downcast. "I didn't mean it. I was just -we were having a discussion like civilised people and I -I may have said something I shouldn't have in jest."

  


"Do you know making fun of hybrids and calling them derogatory terms is punishable by law?" Heechul asked.

  


The boy nodded. "I'm sorry. It was a slip of tongue." He was bleeding badly from the nose. Baekhyun had beaten him blue and black.

  


"It's not me that you should apologise to." The Dean pointed out gently. 

  


The boy looked at Chanyeol. "I'm sorry. Hey man, I didn't mean to offend you."

  


"It's okay." Chanyeol looked very stiff from restraining his owner from launching at the offender. "I don't think it is right for the college to hold such competitions. It is offensive. I am not okay with it." 

  


Heechul put his palms together, "We will deliberate and soon take a call on whether to hold the fashion show or not. In the meantime, please submit a representation to me." He looked at Baekhyun sharply. "This is how we solve such issues in this college. Both of you may now leave. I want to speak with Mr. Byun Baekhyun alone."

  


The hybrid reluctantly let go of his owner's wrist. 

  


"Byun Baekhyun, please take a seat."

  


The boy sat down, still vibrating with anger. It reminded Heechul of his younger self. "There are too many evils in the world, Baekhyun. But you know what? Not one of them can be solved with violence."

  


Baekhyun looked up. 

  


"Have a toffee." Heechul offered him his box of candies. "Finish your toffee and reflect on what you did. Finish it, finish it."

  


The boy grabbed a candy and tore the wrapper off. Heechul waited for a few minutes. "Song Jisung said something offensive. I get that. But do you think you should have reacted like that?"

  


Baekhyun shook his head. "I should not have reacted like that." 

  


"Great. Then please apologise to Song Jisung the next time you see him. We are all at different stages of learning. Maybe he doesn't have a hybrid back home, maybe he doesn't know how harmful casual prejudice towards hybrids is. Maybe he never had any opportunity to learn of this, maybe there was no one around to teach him. Maybe he will reflect on his action today and course correct. It's a learning curve, Baekhyun. Think about it."

  


"I'm sorry." 

  


"I'm sure you are. I gave you a toffee instead of punishment today. Do you know what I want to hear?"

  


"What, sir?"

  


"That you'll never behave like this again, not in this campus, not outside this campus. We have to be better than this."

  


"Yes, sir." 

  


"Did you get my point?"

  


Baekhyun nodded. 

  


"Great. Now go and fix your lip."

  
  


Baekhyun was dragged to the infirmary by Jongdae, he had a cut on his lip. The top two buttons of his shirt were gone, his knuckles were bruised too. There were scratches on his forearms, his index finger was bleeding. He looked like a tom cat who had gotten into a very dirty street fight. The nurse judged Baekhyun while applying ointment on his cheek bone. 

  


"Have you seen Chanyeol?" Baekhyun asked his friend lamely. 

  


"You're such a loser." Jongdae scolded. "Why will he hang around to see you get your lip fixed? I am pretty sure you embarrassed him good and proper this time."

  


Baekhyun groaned. "Great. Now everyone knows I am the owner." Was there any way Chanyeol didn't hate him now. But he couldn't help himself. How could he allow someone to make fun of Chanyeol! No matter how many times Chanyeol let such insults slide, Baekhyun knew more than anyone else how it affected the hybrid. How many times had Chanyeok let such insults go. How could Baekhyun have not reacted? 

  
  


Ahjumma - noona was surprised to see Baekhyun's dishevelled state that evening. "Don't look at me like that. Banana milk. Two please."

  


"Son, who did this to you?"

  


Baekhyun rolled his eyes, "You should see the other guy's face. Blue black."

  


Ahjumma - noona was shocked into silence. These youngsters were all untrustworthy, they'd look like helpless kittens on the outside. Inside, mercenary panthers! 

  


Baekhyun sipped his banana mill, mildly uneasy, afraid to look up, afraid he'd catch sight of Chanyeol, scared he would see a hint of disappointment on Chanyeol's face. He groaned, anything but that, anything but disappointment on Chanyeol's face. 

  


It was fair for the tiger hybrid to not want their fellow students to learn about his owner. He was afraid he might have broken an unwritten law between the two of them.

  


Chanyeol had caught him smoking once. He was fifteen. To this date, Baekhyun remembered the look on the tiger hybrid's face. "Throw it away right now or I swear, Byun Baekhyun!" That was the first and the last time Baekhyun held a cigarette. 

  


There was also that time when Baekhyun and his friends tried whiskey for the first time at Minseok's sixteenth birthday party. Thinking back now, it was such a lame thing to do. Baekhyun had thrown up on his mother's pretty lawn. Chanyeol wordlessly came and helped him clean up the mess. 

  


He had seen anger, and he had seen resignation. He couldn't bear to see disappointment in Chanyeol's eyes. 

  


When the tiger hybrid finally showed up, Baekhyun just stared at his half empty bottle of banana milk, wondering what his sentence would be like this time.

  


"Did the Dean give you a hard time?"

  


Baekhyun perked up, he didn't detect anger in that voice. "He asked me to reflect."

  


"Does it hurt?"

  


Oh good. The big cat was concerned. "A little bit." Baekhyun lied meekly, sipping some milk.

  


Chanyeol drank his banana milk in silence. 

  


"Are you angry with me?" He finally asked.

  


"No." 

  


"Your friends know you are mine now." He was much too troubled then to arrange his words. 

  


"What's done is done Baekhyun. Look at me."

  


Baekhyun looked up, eyes burning with passion, "I couldn't stop myself, just couldn't. I - you -" He sighed and stared at the raw wounds on his hands, "You don't know how protective I am of you."

  


"I know, Baekhyun." Chanyeol said simply. 

  


Baekhyun swallowed, a thousand worries milling his overworked brain. It always felt like they were slow dancing in a burning room, he honestly didn't know which plugs to push, which play would work. "If you want to say something, you can." 

  


"What do you want me to say?"

  


"Oh," Baekhyun scratched the surface of the wooden table, "anything."

  


But Chanyeol remained silent.

  


"like how," his fingers were still leaving scratch marks on ahjumma-noona's crudely painted table top. "I could have kept my cool and let you deal with it. I had no business butting in." 

  


The tiger hybrid flicked his fingers to make him stop with the action. He spoke slowly. "Can't say it was the highlight of my year. Everybody knows I have a very volatile owner now. But -" he tapped Baekhyun's fingers again, "stop doing that, you'll ruin your nails. If someone were to ridicule you in front of me, I don't know what I'd do either."

  


Baekhyun's jaw slackened, soul flying back in his body with those few words. 

  


The tiger hybrid touched the corner of his lips, "Hurts?"

  


He shook his head. "I am so scared of doing something that'll push you away. I'm scared you'd feel caged. I'm - " Baekhyun blinked furiously. "silly, I know. But I don't want you to think that I'm in any way trying to call the shots in your life. I will never, never be that person." He rambled some more.

  


Chanyeol listened patiently, then ordered two cups of vanilla ice cream. They ate the tiny scoops in comfortable silence. "Do you still remember the day it rained, and you got me an umbrella ?" The tiger hybrid was gazing at him with wide open, sincere eyes. 

  


Baekhyun felt some type of way. "Mn." He remembered that afternoon all too well.

  


"I know you can cross mountains for me." Chanyeol said, choosing his words one at a time, very carefully. "It's the same with me. Don't you know?"

  


The tiger hybrid placed a warm hand on his nape, "Don't worry about people knowing I belong to you. It doesn't matter anymore. Nothing you do would ever push me away. I won't go anywhere."

  


Baekhyun wanted to cry, even as relief washed over him at Chanyeol's words. He was in too deep. You see, he was far too much in love with Chanyeol. He was scared he wouldn't be able to bottle up his feelings any longer, that they'd come tumbling out some day and upset the precarious balance between them. 

  


It was a balance they both fought so hard to keep, it was precious. 

  


"Want to go home now?" 

  


"Mn."

  
  
  


Baekhyun frankly had no recollection of the exact moment he fell for Chanyeol, he wouldn't be able to say even if a gun were pointed to his head. He had always known it would be Chanyeol though. If love was a grown up's affair, he knew he would fall for Chanyeol when he grew up. He'd known this with certainty.

  


He, however, did remember the exact day he realised he could never not love Chanyeol. He remembered it like yesterday, like this morning. He could not have been older than Yeri back then. Chanyeol's voice had already changed, while his own was somewhere in between, getting there. 

  


There was a spell of rain that morning, followed by afternoon showers. When Baekhyun removed his earphones in between breaks from gaming, he realised that the pitter patter outside his window had turned into a downpour. Frowning, the boy looked out the window. He had definitely seen a tiger proudly walk by his window, he couldn't remember seeing the tiger come back in. 

  


Baekhyun grabbed two umbrellas and hurried out the back door. He looked for the tiger hybrid everywhere, getting drenched in the process himself. But the tiger hybrid was nowhere to be found, not even in his favourite hotspots. Baekhyun walked around, smelling for butter popcorn. Tigers are territorial, they love to scent mark their favourite places. Tiger urine smells remarkably like butter popcorn. There is a joke among people who live in tiger range countries - run for your life if you smell butter popcorn out of nowhere in the middle of the forest. 

  


Because Chanyeol was always out and about scent marking, one could catch whiffs of butter popcorn every now and then. 

  


There was lightning followed by thunderclap. "Chanyeol!" Baekhyun cried out loud, but it was pointless now, the rain drowning out all his cries. He was already sodden from head to toe, Chanyeol must be too. 

  


The boy walked lamely to the pond to wash the mud off his feet. There, he discovered one tiger, huge in size, lazily swimming in the water, unmindful of the rain or thunder. He was the picture of calm. Everywhere was bleak and overcast, but a tiger swimming with his fat paws in the pond made Baekhyun giggle. 

  


The tiger seemed not to mind Baekhyun intruding on his bath time. 

  


The boy allowed the umbrellas to dance away in the wind, and went to perch on the stone seat by the pond. His mother would shriek at them if she knew they were getting sitting under the open sky under the downpour. He could go back to the house, quietly enter by the backdoor, leave mud stains on the tiles and pretend it wasn't him. Or he could stay here by the pond, and wait for the tiger to climb up the muddy bank. 

  


Baekhyun hadn't seen Chanyeol in his tiger form for quite some time. He wanted to admire the tiger cat. Minutes passed. But the one who ultimately emerged from the pond was not a tiger, not even a boy. Baekhyun could not look away, senses numbed by pouring rain and something else, some feeling. It was not like he hadn't seen Chanyeol naked before. Nudity was not a problem for them, they were both male, they grew up together, they did not make much of it. 

  


But that day, Baekhyun was struck by how much Chanyeol had grown in every way. Chanyeol's manhood was evident, and Baekhyun stared slack jawed, a little jealous he was not there yet, a little tempted too. It was one thing to admire, and quite another to desire. That day under the thunder showers, Baekhyun felt desire stir within him. He was confused and dumbstruck, his feelings for Chanyeol in disarray. 

  


The tiger hybrid did not look at Baekhyun as he approached, collecting the abandoned umbrellas on his way. His thick hair was plastered over his face, making it hard for Baekhyun to tell if he minded Baekhyun's intrusion, his stare. 

  


Chanyeol came and stood right in front of him, then carefully held an umbrella over Baekhyun's head in a way that blocked the boy's vision. Baekhyun could no longer see Chanyeol, could no longer feel raindrops fall on him. Baekhyun's heart hammered. Chanyeol didn't want Baekhyun to look at him! This was the first time Chanyeol had been shy of his state of undress. It was a watershed moment for both of them. 

  


"You're sitting on my towel." 

  


Baekhyun gently took hold of the umbrella, hiding his embarrassment behind it, and moved out of the way.

  


He waited until Chanyeol was done wrapping the towel around his naked self, before looking up. "I came looking for you." This conversation was pointless now, they were both wet from head to toe. Under the rain, and with his newfound realisations, it was as if Baekhyun was looking at Chanyeol for the first time.

  


Later, Chanyeol knocked on his door to invite him for a hot chocolate in the kitchen. "Don't do that again." the tiger hybrid said. "I'll be fine, but you'll catch a cold. Drink up."

  


"Can I hold your tail for a bit?" Baekhyun had ventured, emboldened by the hot chocolate and the concern in Chanyeol's eyes. Many things were changing, and Chanyeol had grown up all of a sudden. Holding the tiger hybrid's tail comforted him on the most uncertain of days. 

  


Just when it looked like his request would be turned down, a long, striped tail materialised. Baekhyun grabbed it, happiness bursting out of everywhere. He wanted to tell Chanyeol not to grow up too fast, or at all, and remain a tiger cub he could protect forever. Adolescence was uncharted territory, tough to navigate. Baekhyun wished they could stay like that forever, drinking hot chocolate, sharing secrets. He wanted to keep Chanyeol hidden from the world forever

  


That was so long ago. Not only had Chanyeol grown up, but it looked like Baekhyun could no longer protect him from the world. 

  
  


The tiger hybrid's friends - new and old - came home one fine Sunday, bringing with them loud guffaws and unceasing laughter. 

  


Baekhyun sat on the living room couch, playing cards by himself, looking towards the staircase every time noise erupted from the first floor. Over the years, Kyungsoo and Jongin had dropped by countless times, picnicking on the farm, splashing in the pond, and staying overnight. Baekhyun felt peculiar this time around, as though he drank a lot of milk that had gone sour at one go. Chanyeol's new friends had glanced at him just as curiously as Baekhyun had looked at them. 

  


And now they get to lounge inside Chanyeol's room. Progress. Baekhyun sighed, thinking about the deadlock Chanyeol and he were in.

  


"Go and join them." his mother prodded from the other room, unable to bear Baekhyun fidgeting on the couch.

  


He pretended he didn't hear her, frowning at his card spread now. 

  


"I made cold coffee. Do you want to take these upstairs?" His mother said, this time louder. 

  


Baekhyun sighed. "No. Just hand me mine."

  


"Go say hi." It was strange for Baekhyun to not go and greet Chanyeol's friends. In the past, he had no problem hanging out with them. He got along famously with Jongin and Kyungsoo.

  


He rubbed his eyes and picked a card, not answering his mother. Truth be told, he was intimidated by Chanyeol's new friends, they were all so beautiful. The one called Sehun was peerless. Tzuyu was very striking in appearance as well. He felt shy, and something akin to dread. They were having such a good time anyway, Baekhyun feared he would go and make them awkward. 

  


It was much safer to sit on the couch, where he could hear all the laughter he was excluded from. He could easily have gone to the farm next door and entertained himself, or go out for a bicycle ride. 

  


His mother found him lying face down on the couch, surfing his cellphone listlessly the next time she came to check in on him. She half heartedly hoped Chanyeol would come and invite him upstairs. The boys had weird behaviour and the oddest practices, like vampires they would step on the other's territory only upon express invitation. 

  


She knew very well in her heart that if prodded in the right direction early on, they could have been the best of friends now. Baekhyun's mother had been utterly scared of the co-dependence shown by Chanyeol and Baekhyun in their early days. She had played her part in keeping them from bonding, never letting them get close, become friends. 

  


Chanyeol was a sweet boy, but he was a hybrid, and god knows how hard hybrid lives were. For someone like Chanyeol who didn't compromise on anything, life was going to be harder. She still spent sleepless nights on her bed hoping and praying that her gravest fears about them wouldn't come true. The way they looked at each other sometimes petrified her.

  


But there would still be days when she would be ashamed of herself, afraid to look in Chanyeol's eyes, afraid the tiger hybrid knew what she feared about the two of them. All her life, she had tried her best to provide Chanyeol a loving environment to grow in. Should she be guilty, she didn't know.

  


Some months ago, god almost answered her prayers. She came this close. Chanyeol, upon obtaining legal age, announced his plans to move out of their house. Although she had bittersweet feelings regarding his plans, she managed to convince her husband to let the tiger hybrid go. "One day or the other, he will step out of this place. He has a massive trust fund waiting for him, why would he need us? Isn't it better if he learnt to be independent? He wants it, we can't stop him."

  


Her husband sighed many times, "The world is cruel. I worry for him."

  


"Don't tell Baekhyun yet. This boy, I worry about Baekhyun more."

  


Baekhyun learnt of Chanyeol's plan to move out the night Mr. Byun handed the No Objection papers to Chanyeol. He tried to put on a brave face. He didn't say anything, didn't protest, didn't look up, but the fingers holding the chopsticks visibly shook. He couldn't eat, his trauma too severe. Soon, tears streamed down his face, dropping harmlessly. He silently wept as though someone in their family died the most tragic death. 

  


Mrs. Byun was torn, how could Chanyeol not be moved, Chanyeol who got the most agitated whenever Baekhyun was in pain. 

  


In the end, Chanyeol crumpled the papers and quietly handed the paper ball to Baekhyun. He couldn't speak a word either. That was the most miserable dinner in the Byun household of all time, and they were the most miserable duo. 

  


The tiger hybrid decided not to move out. Not only were Mrs. Byun's hopes dashed, but her many fears were now fortified. 

  


Thus, she was overtly pleased at the sight of Tzuyu, so pleased that she asked Chanyeol's friends to stay back for dinner. With Baekhyun tossing and turning on the couch, all her hopes were pinned on Chanyeol now. Maybe he would bring home a girlfriend one of these days. All was not lost, she took heart. 

  
  


Baekhyun smiled when he heard footsteps on the stairs, but the smile froze the very next moment when he heard a girl's voice instead. 

  


"Baekhyun, why don't you come upstairs? We're having so much fun playing Twister. Chanyeol -he- I didn't know he's so flexible."

  


Tzuyu was tall and slender, guileless and adorable like a doe. Baekhyun sadly realised that he liked her. "You should come visit during strawberry picking season. There's so much more to do than play Twister."

  


"Can I sit beside you for a bit?"

  


Baekhyun nodded, and moved so Tzuyu could have enough space. Hybrids were sensitive about their space. 

  


"That day when you boxed that obnoxious person," Tzuyu placed both her hands on his, "I don't think I've admired a person more." 

  


"Hehe." Baekhyun laughed, the memory causing instant embarrassment. 

  


Tzuyu scanned his face, as though taking in every feature, sizing him up. "I have heard so much about you. Jongin keeps praising you to high heavens." 

  


It seemed like she was going somewhere, Baekhyun did not interrupt her. "You and Chanyeol are very close, aren't you?"

  


He was at a loss. "Eh-" he merely scratched his head. 

  


"Can I be very direct and ask you something?"

  


Baekhyun stared at her blankly. Tzuyu probably never took any detours if there was a straight road ahead, same as Chanyeol. "Yeah?"

  


"Are you and Chanyeol .. uh..well, what the hell, are you and Chanyeol dating?"

  


"Heh?" 

  


Tzuyu bit her lips, "Do you have feelings for Chanyeol?"

  


"Tzuyu?" In that moment between life and death, when Baekhyun was struggling for words, and dying from the scrutiny, Chanyeol came noisily downstairs. "What are you doing here? Come, we're waiting for you to start the next game." he eyed both of them suspiciously. 

  


Tzuyu clutched Baekhyun's hand, "Just give me a hint. Anything." She seemed so eager for an answer, he felt bad, almost. 

  


He shrugged and shook his head. 

  


Tzuyu gave him a splendid smile, her joy was clear for all to see. "Great." 

  
  


That night, Baekhyun had difficulty falling asleep. A thousand stray thoughts filled his mind. He tried to chase each and every one of them away, but to no avail. In the end, the boy couldn't stand it any more. He needed succour.

  


He tiptoed upstairs like a thief in his own house, his mind only half made up. He told himself he would knock on Chanyeol's door once, just once, and lightly, like feathers touch the rooftops. If there was no response, he'd immediately flee downstairs. 

  


But before he could even ball his fist, the door was pulled ajar. Chanyeol stood on the other side. The timing was so perfect that it almost seemed as though the tiger hybrid had been waiting for Baekhyun to come knock on his door. 

  


Baekhyun just stood there stupidly. He hadn't thought this through at all.

  


"Hungry?" came the deep voice in the dark.

  


Hearing Chanyeol's voice did wonders to Baekhyun's anxiety. "I can't fall asleep." he cried out, almost too desperately. 

  


There was a two second pause in which Baekhyun feared the worst, that Chanyeol would shut the door on his face. Worse, Chanyeol would scoff.

  


"Come here." the tiger hybrid said instead, drawing Baekhyun inside the room. "You okay being cramped on my bed?"

  


Baekhyun couldn't believe his ears. That he'd be invited to Chanyeol's bed did not even make it to his wildest dreams. He hoped to have a late night conversation at most, but this was too wild, too enticing, he could cry. Could his heart stand it? Did he sleepwalk inside a dream? 

  


"Mmm mmm," Baekhyun nodded eagerly, letting himself be guided to Chanyeol's bed. 

  


"Get in." 

  


Only when Chanyeol climbed in after him did he realise how cramped this actually was. "Your bed is small." 

  


"Warned you." Chanyeol whispered from somewhere very close to him. Baekhyun gave his back to the tiger hybrid so that there'd be enough space for the two of them. 

  


He felt Chanyeol's carding his fingers through his hair soon after. 

"Why couldn't you fall asleep?" He felt Chanyeol's murmur deep down to his toes.

  


Baekhyun pondered over how to answer this for the longest time, greatly aware of Chanyeol's fingers in his hair, gently tugging at the roots in an apparent attempt to soothe him. He relaxed. 

  


"I think Tzuyu likes you." 

  


Chanyeol patted his head. "No, she doesn't."

  


"She does."

  


The tiger hybrid shifted closer to him, almost hugging from behind. "Is that why you can't fall asleep?"

  


Baekhyun didn't answer. After some time, he turned to face Chanyeol, "Do you like her?" It was the softest of whispers, the query asked with a lot of apprehension, and reluctance to hear the answer.

  


Instead of giving a reply, Chanyeol merely traced his face with his finger. Baekhyun closed his eyes. The finger paused where Baekhyun's beauty spots were, it seemed the tiger hybrid had committed each of his mole to memory. "And here you have that scar from that time." the big cat murmured.

  


"Answer me." Baekhyun begged.

  


Chanyeol cupped his cheeks. "No. I don't."

  


He almost let out a relieved sob. "Okay." Now he could sleep. A few minutes later, he began to softly snore against Chanyeol's bare chest. 

  


Chanyeol, on the other hand, was terrified out of his wits. How could he sleep tonight, he was scared of what he might do, he was scared of missing Baekhyun's toss and turns. What if he missed Baekhyun sleep talking. What if he dozed off and smothered Baekhyun in his sleep. What if Baekhyun woke up in the middle of the night and decided to climb out of bed. What if he woke up and Baekhyun was gone from his side. How would he deal with that loss? What if this was all a dream? 

  


Why did Baekhyun think he would like anyone other than him? Like? Chanyeol didn't even know what like was supposed to mean. Wasn't he too obviously and painfully and irreconcilably in love with Baekhyun? It was so obvious, Baekhyun's mother would turn him out of the house any day now for hungering after her son. It was clear as day for everyone to see. Even little Yeri could see it. 

  


What choice did he have in the matter? Every day he woke up to see a beaming Baekhyun, and every night he fell asleep after seeing a beaming Baekhyun, he didn't know what life without his sunlit face was. After investing so many bated breaths on Baekhyun, was he a fool to go and like someone else? How often did a human heart change, for Baekhyun to worry about Chanyeol's heart, too?

  


Didn't he already lay all his cards on the table, must he now carve his heart out? Chanyeol was many things, and he loved Baekhyun in many different ways, but he couldn't be cheesy. It was not in his nature to. His inherent nature made it impossible for him to spell it out, to say that he was in love with Baekhyun. He could show it in every way, but he'd sooner die than speak it out loud.

  


He lay awake till the sky turned orange, listening to his human breathing, counting till ten thousand and one, then counting again. He looked at Baekhyun's lovely face, soft outlines now visible in the morning light. He finally fell asleep. 

  
  
  


Baekhyun dreamed a very beautiful dream - he often dreamt of Chanyeol. They were riding bicycles in the rain. Baekhyun thought he had walked in on another when he opened his eyes and found himself ensconced in the tiger hybrid's embrace.

  


Chnayeol was majestic, as a tiger and a boy who slept. Baekhyun didn't have to imagine what kissing Chanyeol would taste like. He, of all people, knew the big cat better than anyone else. It was a miracle. It scared him out of his wits. What if he messed this up, what if they became strangers with secrets one day?

  


They were going to be horribly late for class today. He lightly tapped Chanyeol's nose until the boy opened his eyes. "Are we bunking class today?" 

  


"Mm." Chanyeol let go of the tight hold and readjusted his sleeping position, not making much of their closeness, the moisture of sweat between them, their smells that had intermingled. 

  


A sleepy cat.

  


Baekhyun grabbed a fistful of Chanyeol's hair, thick as ever, and shook the tiger's head ever so gently. "Sleep tight. I'm gonna head downstairs." 

  


"Mm." Chanyeol said, drowsily opening one eye, like he wanted to see to take a good look at Baekhyun before he walked away. Then, the tiger cat smiled. 

  
  


Baekhyun too was smiling as he bounded downstairs. He got the fright of his life to find his mother at the foot of the stairs, she was standing there like a ghost, pale and deathly still. "I couldn't find you in your room.." Her words were faint.

  


He felt bad for his mother. "We're bunking class today." he said, as if that explained everything. She followed him to his room. 

  


"What were you doing upstairs?"

  


"I was with Chanyeol." Baekhyun shrugged. 

  


"Oh..alright." she clasped and unclasped her hands, looking like she had something to say. "I made sandwiches." she said woefully, as though these were not the words she actually wanted to say. "But they've gone cold now. Make sure to heat them up. I'll be at the overseer's office if you guys need anything." 

  


His mother paused by the door and gave him another look. "Don't forget to warm up the food."

  
  
  


A surprising thing happened when summer came around. "Yeri doesn't hate you anymore." Minseok declared. 

  


"How did this happen?" Baekhyun asked, only mildly interested as he picked packets of instant noodles off the racks. They were out grocery shopping at the emart. "She finally found someone her age, huh?"

  


Minseok examined the expiry date of a bottle of ginger beer. "What - no no. How many bottles of ginger beer do we need?"

  


"Jongdae said he is inviting eight people, not counting the two of us."

  


"Ok - eleven bottles then." Minseok counted the bottles meticulously, he was thorough like that. His sister was thorough too. "Yeri has directed her hatred to Tzuyu now."

  


Baekhyun abandoned whatever he was about to pick next, "Tzuyu? How does Yeri know Tzuyu?"

  


"She stalks Chanyeol's Instagram, and sees their selfies." 

  


In the flash of a second, Baekhyun fished his phone out from the back pocket. He had no self respect. "What selfies?" He hadn't seen any selfies, he stalked Chanyeol on Instagram too. 

  


Minseok sighed, feeling a sense of deja vu looking at Baekhyun. His friend and his sister were similar in one aspect. "The girl's profile, go to the girl's profile."

  


Baekhyun frowned as he pored over the pics. Tzuyu had posted many photos of Chanyeol and her friends on Instagram, like any other college goer would. Regular, routine stuff. Harmless. He felt very stupid going through each and every snap, leaving Minseok to do the rest of the shopping. 

  


He didn't know Chanyeol went to the movies with Tzuyu. When was this? Baekhyun peered at the date, not very long ago. He didn't know Chanyeol could smile so brightly at the camera. "Wow." he thought, putting his phone away. 

  


"They're just friends, they do regular stuff. Tell Yeri not to worry."

  


Minseok thought Baekhyun should take his own advice. 

  


"They're just friends, they do regular stuff." Minseok elbowed Baekhyun and repeated the words on their ride to Jongdae's. 

  


"I'm not worried." Baekhyun said earnestly, then looked out the window. He gazed at the sky, losing himself in thought. Why should he be worried, Chanyeol and he shared an understanding afterall. It was not spelled out in so many words, but it had been sealed with a kiss.

  


What seemed a long, long time ago now, Chanyeol had kissed him fully on his mouth with only the night sky bearing witness to their unspoken little deal. Why should Baekhyun be worried? It was his most prized secret, something he'd pull from the recesses of his mind to examine every now and then. 

  


That night when Chanyeol decided not to leave for the uni dorm, the tiger hybrid appeared in his room and pulled him to the window. Baekhyun's eyes were still red from all the crying earlier. He had many little grudges to give voice to, but Chanyeol didn't give him the opportunity to speak. The big cat tilted his chin upwards and swooped in for a kiss, their first kiss, after which words were anyways redundant, words lost all their meaning. 

  


The only thing worth any value was this - being kissed by this person in the still of the night, next to an open window, cool draught coming in.

  


Baekhyun sobbed into the kiss, but Chanyeol only pressed firmly and pushed his tongue in. He remembered being swept off his feet that night, literally, figuratively, in every which way possible. Chanyeol was a good kisser, slow, steady, attentive. Even ten days later, Baekhyun would still remember how it tasted like, how warm he felt even on a chilly night, how soft and tender Chanyeol's lips were.

  


Chanyeol kissed like he was relinquishing hold, giving up everything to Baekhyun. The dread Baekhyun felt that night gradually gave way to something warm, a low bonfire. 

  


The inside of Chanyeol's mouth was hot and sweet. Chanyeol knew how best to press their bodies together, for warmth, comfort and to ease the ache in their bodies. It didn't stray farther than a kiss. 

  


It was a harmless first kiss, with the promise of so much more one day. He let himself be kissed as much as the other wanted, for as long as it was necessary to wash away the pain they'd both felt earlier. 

  


Baekhyun could wait for other things to come around, just as he had waited for this kiss for so long. They didn't speak of it the next day.

He knew this was how it was going to be for them. 

  


They had an understanding, and for the time being, Baekhyun was content. He had no desire to rush, they could take their sweet time. 

  


"They're just friends." Baekhyun reassured Minseok, Yeri and most of all, himself. He smiled, keeping his spirits up. He knew a secret which Yeri didn't, in spite of all her stalking. 

  
  
  


Baekhyun began to pay closer attention to Tzuyu at college, discovering something he had failed to take note of earlier. The deer hybrid would look at him just as calculatingly. He found her eyes on him many times for it to be a coincidence. Great. He perhaps had another hater like Yeri. So many people hated him for no fault of his own.

  


Then one day, out of the blue, reality came and slapped Baekhyun hard on the cheek, straightening out all his prior misgivings. It was the funniest thing to have happened to him this semester, but the same could not be said to be true in Chanyeol's case. 

  


The rainy season had begun, and Baekhyun forgot to bring his umbrella to college. It was only a slight drizzle. On the way to Cacao Delight that evening, Chanyeol and he were going back and forth on who should use the single umbrella. 

  


"I have a spare." someone called from behind. It was Tzuyu. 

  


Baekhyun rolled his eyes despite himself. "Great." he snatched the umbrella out of Chanyeol's hand. 

  


"You can have mine." Tzuyu spoke the very same moment, the widest smile plastered on her face, offering him her spare umbrella. Her smile fell when she noticed his expression. "Were you both walking to the bus stop?" 

  


"Give that to me." the tiger hybrid took the proffered item from Tzuyu's outstretched hand. "No, we're getting banana milk first." 

  


"Mind if I tag along?" Baekhyun heard her ask. He walked a little faster. Banana milk was their very own sacred tradition. Was Tzuyu going to tag along now? He wanted Chanyeol to turn her down, but he also didn't want her to feel bad. She'd offered them her spare umbrella afterall. 

  


"That sounds great." Baekhyun heard himself say. 

  
  


Ahjumma-noona lifted her eyebrows when she saw Chanyeol and Tzuyu walk in together. Baekhyun frowned at her. "Banana milk. Three."

  


"I'll pay." Chanyeol shuffled close, pulling his wallet out. 

  


Ahjumma-noona looked from Baekhyun to Chanyeol to Tzuyu who came to stand right beside Baekhyun. She kept staring at the trio even as they went to sit by the window. 

  


Those two looked miserable, as gray and sullen as the weather outside. The pretty girl looked like she couldn't contain her happiness though. Ahjumma-noona's time tested eyes did not miss the way the deer hybrid sat a little closer to Baekhyun. 

  


What sitcom drama was this, she thought. Trouble in paradise was her favourite au afterall.

  
  


If given half a chance, Chanyeol would have turned Tzuyu down without feeling the slightest bit of remorse. He had all the qualities of a human, he was also territorial like a tiger. He kept it in check but he couldn't help being so damn possessive about Baekhyun. He would never be able to help it. Baekhyun was his Achilles heel. Baekhyun was like sweet relief on sultry days and a lick of hellfire on wintry nights. He didn't have a compromising nature to begin with. He would compromise on anything, anything other than Baekhyun.

  


Even though Tzuyu was a dear friend, the tiger hybrid would make her back off if he had to. She never missed an opportunity to ask about Baekhyun, him of all people, he who would not share Baekhyun with a little fly. It was mildly annoying at first, it had become pure irritation at this point.

  


"Do you think Baekhyun would date a hybrid?"

  


"Does Baekhyun like girls?"

  


"Is he dating someone? How many girlfriends did he have in school?" 

  


Baekhyun this Baekhyun that. Can you stop talking about my human!

  
  


Chanyeol had none of the sweet temper which Baekhyun possessed. He could only be sweet and patient when it came to the human. Right now, his patience was running thin, especially with the way Tzuyu was looking at Baekhyun, doe eyed. 

  


Ahjumma-noona was getting old and useless, he thought. This banana milk tasted like vinegar. He was drinking vinegar.

  


He was envious of Tzuyu - for sitting that close to Baekhyun as well for being able to openly state her mind. 

  


"I like you." Tzuyu had said just then, tugging at Baekhyun's sleeves.

  


Baekhyun turned to stone even as Chanyeol turned grumpier. 

  


"Haaa?" Clearly, Baekhyun had not been expecting that at all. The tiger hybrid scoffed inwardly, that's right, the human thought Tzuyu liked him. Tchh! 

  


"I like you so much. You're so adorable. All the girls in our class like you, and secretly stalk you on Instagram."

  


"Oh? Hehe.." Baekhyun scratched his head, at a loss for words, his dark mood from earlier doing a complete u-turn. Now he was just a bashful young guy, fielding the advances of a pretty girl. Baekhyun was as fickle as the weather.

  


Chanyeol hated the sight. 

  


"Will you go out with me?" Tzuyu asked. Chanyeol really admired her courage. He felt like a loser envying her, the world belonged to those who took charge. What had he been doing all this time, behaving like a coward, not daring to put a step forward.

  


He felt mild panic engulfing him. What if he'd missed the timing, what if it was too late. He had wasted so much time already, why shouldn't someone like Tzuyu win over him?

  


"He can't go out with you." Chanyeol blurted out suddenly.

  


Tzuyu looked askance at him. She'd almost forgotten her friend was right there. "Why don't you go stand near the counter? We'll come after we're done talking."

  


Chanyeol glanced at Baekhyun. The human had turned mute all of a sudden. "Fine." He strode to ahjumma-noona and glared at her.

  


"Hmph. What did I do?" ahjumma-noona shrugged. "Now who's that girl? It's strange. I thought you two were a couple."

  


"We are a couple." Chanyeol declared, running his fingers through his hair. He directed his frustration and anger at the lady. "We've been coming here for the past five months, doing couple stuff. Why would you think we're not a couple? Are you blind?" 

  


"Okay. Okay." Ahjumma-noona placated. "I didn't say anything. Calm down."

  


"I am calm. What makes you think I am not calm?" 

  


The lady gave up. "No reason."

  
  


They did not get any seats on the bus ride back home, which was all very well for Chanyeol because he wanted to hover around the human. Baekhyun had a lot of finesse, he would go about such things with patience, waiting for the perfect moment. But Chanyeol wasn't like that. "Did you turn her down?" He placed his arm around the human's small waist, nose almost digging into Baekhyun's hair. The human smelled of raindrops and an assortment of confectionery today. His human. His.

  


"I thought she liked you." Baekhyun cried out. Several people turned their heads to look at them.

  


"Told you she didn't." Chanyeol smelled Baekhyun's hair again and again, then his face. He was on the verge of rubbing himself against Baekhyun, the tiger hybrid wanted to show all his affection for the human right then. 

  


When they reached their stop, Chanyeol surprised Baekhyun by kissing the tip of his nose before letting go. 

  
  
  


It was still drizzling by the time darkness fell on the strawberry farm. Chanyeol grew tired of staring at the ceiling fan, he was sticky with sweat, choking with all kinds of bottled feelings. Finally things had come to a pass when he couldn't function like a normal person anymore. He had so many expectations, he had so much to give. He could not postpone this any longer. It wasn't fair. It was torture.

  


He was tired of holding himself back whenever on rut, knowing that the object of his affection would only be too willing to give in to his needs. He couldn't let someone else ask Baekhyun out the next time. There would be no next time.

  


He went downstairs to find Baekhyun. Surprisingly, the human was nowhere to be found inside the house. Mr. and Mrs. Byun were watching a drama in the living room, arguing about who cooked better. 

  


The human must have gone out in the rain, Chanyeol pressed his lips together. He grabbed two umbrellas and stepped out the back door. Where could the guy have wandered off to? 

  


It didn't take the tiger hybrid too long to find out. The human was swimming in the pond, in his pond. Chanyeol looked around and found clothes strewn around the grass, all muddy and wet. He picked them up from their sorry heap and gently placed Baekhyun's clothes on the stone seat. 

  


He felt a sense of deja vu. 

  


Chanyeol undressed himself and placed his clothes beside Baekhyun's. 

  


He stepped in the water, walked to Baekhyun and kissed him, slow soft kisses deepening into ecstatic ones. He was rutting. This wasn't a good time. He was never good with words anyway, he could only show Baekhyun how much he cared. 

  


"The next time someone asks you out," the big cat cupped Baekhyun's cheeks in between kisses, "tell them you're mine. Please tell them that, won't you?"

  


Baekhyun clung to him with both arms, "I told Tzuyu. I did. I have nothing to hide."

  


Under the water, Chanyeol's roving hands found soft mounds of flesh. He sucked on Baekhyun's lower lip. "Yeah? What did you tell?"

  


Baekhyun pressed himself against Chanyeol, their members rubbing against each other now. It was a crazy, wicked sensation. Clouds above, bodies freely mingling with each other underwater. "Told her I can only ever like you. From the beginning, I have only ever liked you."

  


"I have loved you ever since I can remember." Chanyeol groaned, placing Baekhyun's hands on his chest. He attacked those soft lips again. "I have dreamed about your lips, don't you know?" His busy hands hovered over Baekhyun's inner thighs, going up and down, and finally managing to part the human's legs just slightly, just a speck, just enough for what he wanted to do, where he wanted his fingers to brush against.

  


"I've been dying to scent mark you. Do you know how torturous this has been for me?" 

  


But Baekhyun was rendered speechless by Chanyeol's fingers trying to find his entrance. 

  


Chanyeol lightly bit the side of the boy's neck, "I'm rutting. Do you understand?" His hand left let go of Baekhyun's ass. "If you want to wait -"

  


"No." Baekhyun all but moaned, hard and horny himself. "Touch me, it's okay."

  


The tiger hybrid grabbed Baekhyun's dick, all hot and wet. "You don't understand. I'm rutting." He kept repeating that like a mantra.

  


The boy in his hands closed his eyes under the sensation of warm hands rubbing his cock, giving all the attention it needed.

  


Baekhyun was delirious with the feeling of his lover touching him like that, under the water, under the open sky. He thought he would come right there in Chanyeol's hand if he kept the ministrations up. "I thought we'd never reach here." Baekhyun murmured, giving in to this feeling of ecstasy. 

  


"We can't. Not here." Chanyeol said, trying to be the reasonable one now. "Let's go back to my room."

  


Baekhyun's eyes shot open, "No. Here. Take me here. Give me everything you got."

  


"I kissed you long back, didn't I?" Chanyeol groaned against the boy's cheek, "I have already given you all there was to give."

  


"Give me more." 

  


"Since you are begging.."

  


They touched each other's sensitive parts under the water, looking deep in the eyes, touching secret spots, no longer bashful or uncertain. 

  


"I will come just by your touch." Chanyeol pleaded in a hoarse voice, his fingers finding Baekhyun's hole again, this time sticking to the special place. 

  


Baekhyun parted his legs and Chanyeol slipped his middle finger in bit by little bit, carefully scrutinising the human's face. "If it hurts, we can do it later in my room.."

  


"Doesn't hurt, keep doing that."

  


Chanyeol was also teetering on the edge. He just wanted to bury himself inside the tight hole. It was too tight. His dick would have to struggle going in, he was afraid he'd tear Baekhyun's tender skin. 

  


"You are so warm, so tight." he breathed, pushing a second finger in.

  


Baekhyun's eyes were shut tight, but pleasure was written clearly over the lovely face. The human had the prettiest face, littered with beauty spots. He could go crazy just by glimpsing at that face alone. 

  


"Open your eyes. Look at me." Chanyeol said soothingly, pulling his fingers out. "I'm going to try to enter you now, okay?"

  


"Mmm," he reached for an open mouthed kiss. 

  


Kissing Baekhyun like that, holding him in place, Chanyeol gave a quick thrust, forcing himself inside Baekhyun, and another, and another, until he was snug and buried inside the boy. They were too eager, and it was messy, but it still felt like a victory for them. Monsoon fever. 

  


The animal inside Chanyeol wanted to tear open the walls. He took several deep breaths to calm it down. He moved with utmost caution, afraid he'd hurt his baby. Even in his measured movements, pleasure started to build up for both of them. Reading Baekhyun's face for evidence of pleasure and pain, Chanyeol quickened his pace.

  


He never thought he'd have Baekhyun stark naked all for him, moving like this only for him, he never thought he'd get to fuck Baekhyun like this, without fear or caution. There was so much innocence growing up, he'd been afraid of touching Baekhyun like this, debasing that pure image, shattering it with his animalistic thrusts.

  


His fingers spread over Baekhyun's chest, feeling everywhere, touching the soft nubs, waiting for the opportunity to suck them. The boy was biting on his lower lip, no doubt stopping himself from moaning out loud.

  


Chanyeol had every intention of fucking Baekhyun till he was senseless and remembered only his name. "Call my name." he lightly nudged.

  


"Chanyeol."

  


"Keep saying it." he said, snapping his hips harder. He touched the soft belly. 

  


Chanyeol. Chanyeol. Chanyeol.

  


Baekhyun clung tight to Chanyeol as the tiger pulled and pushed inside his hole. His eyes were glassy and unfocused. 

  


"I will fill you up so well." 

  


"Mm."

  


"I'll fill you up with my cum, I'll keep going until you're overflowing with my juices." 

  


"Mm hmm." Baekhyun smiled weakly, he knew the tiger hybrid could go at it again and again. Tigers were too cute for words. They were capable of having sex twenty times a day, something unfathomable for humans. 

  


Chanyeol was dejected that it happened too fast, his orgasm came too fast. "I can go one more time." he panted even as he shot his load inside Baekhyun. "Can you take it?" he asked, after his seizures had subsided.

  


"Mm."

  


"Give me ten minutes." He went underwater and closed his mouth around Baekhyun's dick. If someone were to see Baekhyun now, they would mistakenly believe that he was lost in the pleasure of bathing in the pond on a hot and humid day. Little would they know that someone was pleasuring him underwater.

  


Chanyeol stayed underwater until Baekhyun had shed every last drop of his cum.

  


Baekhyun laughed out of desperation when Chanyeol emerged from the water. He was quivering with excitement and pleasure. "I need a break. My poor ass needs a break."

  


The tiger hybrid kissed him good and proper. "Fifteen minutes?"

  


Fifteen minutes later, Baekhyun found himself on all fours on the muddy grass, the tiger hybrid lodged deep inside him. This time, Chanyeol took a long time to spill his load. He kept thrusting hard, calling Baekhyun's name.

  


"Is this what my life will be from now on?" Baekhyun huffed in exertion after they were done. "Spreading my legs for you every two minutes. Hot damn, you're one relentless tiger."

  


"I'm in rut." Chanyeol protested weakly. "I warned you. I'll fill you with my cum."

  


Baekhyun hit his chest weakly, falling all over him, "My ass can't take it anymore."

  


Chanyeol squinted, a thing tigers did when they were happy and had their guards down in front of their favourite people. "Then open your mouth." he said without shame, "Let me fuck your mouth."

  


Baekhyun pondered over the proposal. He'd come twice already, he felt utterly boneless. "Later, at night." he promised, reaching out to rub Chanyeol's ears in affection. "Keep your dick in line until then." 

  


Chanyeol closed his eyes, holding Baekhyun tight. "If you are going to make me wait that long, you'll have to warm my dick after I'm done fucking your mouth."

  


"Deal." Baekhyun laughed.

  
  
  


Later that, after fulfilling his promises, and making a couple new ones, Baekhyun lay against Chanyeol's chest, listening to the heartbeats of his boyfriend.

  


"Should we tell your mother?" Chanyeol was lightly rubbing the area around his navel. 

  


"We don't have to tell her. She'll know eventually."

  


"Hmm." Chanyeol kissed his forehead. "I think she already knows."

  


"She knows I love you."

  


"She knows I can't breathe without you. Yeri knows too."

  


"Jongdae and Minseok do too. You can't win this game."

  


Chanyeol placed their lips together, "Ahjumma-noona knows about us."

  


Baekhyun kissed him back. "I'd told her we aren't dating..long back."

  


"I told her earlier today that we are a couple." the tiger hybrid chuckled.

  


"You did? Okay, you win." 

  


"What do I win?" Chanyeol placed a kiss on the base of his throat.

  


"What do you want?" Baekhyun laughed.

  


"Here," Chanyeol touched his stomach, "I'll leave kisses here."

  


Baekhyun squealed as his boyfriend blew raspberries on his sensitive skin. 

  


"I'll absolutely scent mark you someday. I must." Chanyeol promised, from somewhere in the dark. 

  


"You must." Baekhyun readily agreed. 

  
  
  


"How does it feel to see your boyfriend on the stage?" Jongdae whispered in his ear. They were in the auditorium, waiting for Chanyeol to begin his speech as the topscorer of the semester. 

  


"I think he is destined for great things." Baekhyun whispered back. "I know he is." He believed that Chanyeol would one day cross frontiers. 

  


Minseok sat on his other side, a box of chocolates from Yeri on his lap. He was tasked with handing the box to Chanyeol and Chanyeol only. Yeri had cried for an entire day and half upon learning that Chanyeol and Baekhyun were dating now. She still believed she would marry him some day, though. There were not many instances when hybrids ended up getting married to their owners. 

  


Baekhyun had just smiled when Minseok asked him if he intended to spend the rest of his life with Chanyeol. "Of course you would." Minseok kept the thought to himself. 

  
  


"Great speech!" Baekhyun told his boyfriend later as they walked to Cacao Delight. 

  


"I thought you weren't paying attention."

  


"I did pay attention. It's hard to look away when someone is so handsome, you know."

  


Chanyeol reached for his hand. "Ahjumma-noona says we should hold hands more often."

  


"Ahjumma-noona has an opinion on everything. Tchh. What if I tell her how clingy you are at night?"

  


"Then I'll tell her how loud you are too."

  


"I'm not loud."

  


Chanyeol brought the lovely hand to his lips and kissed it once, twice. "Then what was that last night? What was all that moaning about?"

  


Baekhyun blushed. "That was only because you're so good with your tongue."

  


"Hmm hmmm." the tiger cat chuckled, pulling his boyfriend inside Cacao Delight's stuffy interiors. 

  


"We'd like the usual please. And he'll pay."

  


Ahjumma-noona rolled her eyes. 

  


Some things never change. Some things undoubtedly will, with the passage of time. Looking at Baekhyun haggling with the lady for a discount, Chanyeol felt blessed that he will at least have this one person who will be a constant in his life. He had witnessed Baekhyun metamorphose from a chubby crybaby to this lovable human being, nobody could take that away from him. Years and years of belonging, years and years of loving, he will always have a home in Baekhyun. 

  
  


FINIS

  
  
  



End file.
